Semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device includes: a substrate comprised by gallium arsenide; an active layer provided on the substrate; a first nickel-plated layer provided on a lower face of the substrate facing the active layer; a copper-plated layer provided on a lower face of the first nickel-plated layer; and a second nickel-plated layer provided on a lower face of the copper-plated layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 13/668,762,filed on Nov. 5, 2012, which is based upon and claims the benefit ofpriority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-242437, filedon Nov. 4, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. (i) Technical Field

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device.

2. (ii) Related Art

A semiconductor device including gallium arsenide (GaAs) is used as apower device for high frequency amplification. An active element such asan FET (Field Effect Transistor) and a passive element are provided on asubstrate made of GaAs. The active element generates heat because ofoperation thereof. It is therefore necessary to release the heat. Thereis a case where a thickness of a substrate made of GaAs is reduced inorder to improve radiation performance of a semiconductor chip. However,the GaAs substrate may be damaged during a handling in a manufacturingprocess thereof, because the GaAs substrate is fragile. And so, thesubstrate may be reinforced by a PHS (Plated Heat Sink) and theradiation performance may be enhanced. Gold may be used for the PHS.Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-166849 discloses that aPHS made of gold is provided on a lower face of a semiconductorsubstrate.

SUMMARY

It is an object to provide a semiconductor device that achievespreferable radiation performance and suppresses warp thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided asemiconductor device including: a substrate comprised by galliumarsenide; an active layer provided on an upper face of the substrate; afirst nickel-plated layer provided on a lower face of the substrate; acopper-plated layer provided on the first nickel-plated layer; and asecond nickel-plated layer provided on the copper-plated layer.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda semiconductor device including: a substrate; an active layer providedon an upper face of the substrate; a first nickel-plated layer providedon a lower face of the substrate; a copper-plated layer provided on thefirst nickel-plated layer; and a second nickel-plated layer provided ona lower face and side face of the copper-plated layer and a side face ofthe substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A through FIG. 1C illustrate a schematic view of a warp of asemiconductor chip;

FIG. 2A illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductor chip inaccordance with a first embodiment;

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross sectional view of an example of mounting ofthe semiconductor chip;

FIG. 3A through FIG. 3C illustrate a cross sectional view of a methodfor manufacturing the semiconductor chip in accordance with the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4A through FIG. 4C illustrate the cross sectional view of themethod for manufacturing the semiconductor chip in accordance with thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductor chip inaccordance with a comparative example;

FIG. 6 illustrates a graph of an experiment result;

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductor chip inaccordance with a second embodiment;

FIG. 8A through FIG. 8D illustrate a cross sectional view illustrating amethod for manufacturing the semiconductor chip in accordance with thesecond embodiment;

FIG. 9A illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductor chip inaccordance with a third embodiment;

FIG. 9B illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductor chip inaccordance with a modified embodiment of the third embodiment; and

FIG. 10A through FIG. 10D illustrate a cross sectional view illustratinga method for manufacturing the semiconductor chip in accordance with thethird embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is preferable that a thickness of a GaAs substrate is reduced inorder to achieve preferable radiation performance, and it is preferablethat a thickness of a PHS is enlarged in order to reinforce the GaAssubstrate. However, when the PHS is thick, a mounting of a semiconductorchip causes a large warp. In particular, the warp is enlarged because athermal expansion coefficient of Au or the like used for the PHS islarge.

First, a description will be given of a warp of a semiconductor chip.FIG. 1A through FIG. 1C illustrate a schematic view of the warp of asemiconductor chip 100 a. The semiconductor chip 100 a is simplified inFIG. 1A through FIG. 1C.

In FIG. 1A, a semiconductor substrate 10 is not warped. As illustratedin FIG. 1B, a PHS 11 made of Au, Cu or the like is provided on a lowerface of the semiconductor substrate 10, and thereby the semiconductorchip 100 a is formed. Because of internal stress of the PHS 11, a warpin a convex direction occurs so that a center portion of thesemiconductor chip 100 a rises. As illustrated in FIG. 1C, thesemiconductor chip 100 a is mounted on a mount substrate made of Cu orthe like by a solder 20 made of gold-tin (AuSn) or the like. In thiscase, the semiconductor chip 100 a is heated to 280 degrees C. or morewhere the solder 20 is softened. A warp in concave direction occurs sothat an end portion of the semiconductor chip 100 a rises, because adifference of thermal expansion coefficient between the GaAs and the PHS11 is large. When a warp amount is large, the solder 20 is hardened andthe semiconductor chip 100 a is fixed, with the semiconductor chip 100 abeing peeled from the mount substrate. Thus, cracking may occur in thesemiconductor chip 100 a. Next, a description will be given of a firstembodiment.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment is an example where a warp amount in the concavedirection after mounting is reduced, by using a PHS made of nickel(Ni)/Cu/Ni and enlarging the warp in the convex direction before themounting. FIG. 2A illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductorchip 100 in accordance with the first embodiment. In FIG. 2A and FIG.2B, the PHS 11 is simplified, and a seed metal is not illustrated.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, an active layer 15 that is made of GaAs andacts as an element such as an FET is provided on an upper face of thesemiconductor substrate 10 made of GaAs. A first Ni layer 12 (firstnickel-plated layer) is provided on a lower face of the semiconductorsubstrate 10 facing the active layer 15. A Cu layer 14 (Cu-plated layer)is provided on a lower face of the first Ni layer 12. A second Ni layer16 (second nickel-plated layer) is provided on a lower face of the Culayer 14. An Au layer 18 is provided on a lower face of the second Nilayer 16. The first Ni layer 12, the Cu layer 14, the second Ni layer 16and the Au layer 18 act as the PHS 11 releasing heat generated in anelement provided on the semiconductor substrate 10. The first Ni layer12 contacts with a seed metal made of Au on the lower face of thesemiconductor substrate 10. The Cu layer 14 contacts with the lower faceof the first Ni layer 12. The second Ni layer 16 contacts with the lowerface of the Cu layer 14. The Au layer 18 contacts with the lower face ofthe second Ni layer 16.

A thickness of the semiconductor substrate 10 is, for example, 20 μm to30 μm. A thickness of the Cu layer 14 is, for example, 5 μm to 30 μm. AThickness of the first Ni layer 12 and the second Ni layer 16 is, forexample, 0.5 μm to 3 μm. A thickness of the Au layer 18 is, for example,0.8 μm to 3 μm.

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross sectional view of an example of mounting ofthe semiconductor chip 100. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the semiconductorchip 100 is mounted on an upper face of a mount substrate 22 by thesolder 20 (adhesive agent) provided on the lower face of the PHS 11. Alead frame 24 is provided on an insulating region 26 of the mountsubstrate 22. The semiconductor chip 100 is electrically coupled to thelead frame 24 via a bonding wire 30. The semiconductor chip 100 issealed by a sidewall 32 and a cap 34 that are made of an insulatingmaterial such as ceramics. The solder 20 includes AuSn or the like. Themount substrate 22 and the lead frame 24 include a metal such as Cu. Thebonding wire 30 is, for example, made of a metal such as aluminum (Al)or Au. Heat generated in the semiconductor chip 100 is released via thePHS 11 and the mount substrate 22.

Next, a description will be given of a method for manufacturing thesemiconductor chip 100. FIG. 3A through FIG. 4C illustrate a crosssectional view of the method for manufacturing the semiconductor chip100 in accordance with the first embodiment. In FIG. 3A through FIG. 4C,the active layer 15 is not illustrated.

As illustrated in FIG. 3A, a wafer 41 including GaAs is attached to alower face of a support member 40 made of glass or the like by a wax orthe like. An upper face of the wafer 41 on which an element is providedis bonded to the lower face of the support member 40. As illustrated inFIG. 3B, the wafer 41 is grinded, and the thickness of the wafer 41 isreduced. As illustrated in FIG. 3C, a part of the wafer 41 is removedalong a scribe line by an etching method or the like. Thereby, thesemiconductor substrate 10 divided into a chip is formed.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, a seed metal 13 made of Au or the like isprovided on the lower face of the support member 40 and the lower faceand the side face of the semiconductor substrate 10. Further, a resist42 is provided between a plurality of the semiconductor substrates 10.As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the first Ni layer 12, the Cu layer 14, thesecond Ni layer 16 and the Au layer 18 are formed by an electrolyticplating method. The seed metal 13 acts as a power feeder line. In theforming process of the first Ni layer 12 and the second Ni layer 16, anickel sulfamate plating bath is used at 55 degrees C. or the like. Inthe forming process of the Cu layer 14, copper sulfate plating bath isused at 25 degrees C. or the like at a current density of 2 A/dm². TheAu layer 18 is formed by forming a thin Au layer (flash-plated layer)and forming a thick Au layer after forming the thin Au layer. In theforming process of the Au layer 18, an Au sulfite plating bath is usedat 55 degrees C. at a current density of 0.1 to 0.5 A/dm². Asillustrated in FIG. 4C, the resist 42 and the seed metal 13 are removed.Thus, the semiconductor chip 100 is manufactured.

The Ni formed by the electro plating has compression stress. In the PHS11, the Cu layer 14 is sandwiched by the Ni layers. Therefore, thesemiconductor chip 100 is greatly warped in the convex portionillustrated in FIG. 1B. A warp amount H1 is 20 μm to 25 μm or the like.The semiconductor chip 100 is mounted on the mount substrate 22 by thesolder 20. Because of the difference of the thermal expansioncoefficient, the semiconductor chip 100 is warped in the concavedirection illustrated in FIG. 1C. The warp amount in the convex portionis large. Therefore, the warp in the concave direction is canceled. Awarp amount H2 in the concave direction is 30 μm to 50 μm or the like.

A description will be given of an experiment demonstrating the warpamount. In the experiment, the thickness of the PHS was changed in thefirst embodiment and a comparative example, and the warp amount wasmeasured before and after the experiment. A description will be given ofthe comparative example.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross sectional view of a semiconductor chip 100Rin accordance with the comparative example. As illustrated in FIG. 5,the semiconductor chip 100R has a semiconductor substrate 110, an activelayer 115 and a PHS 111. The semiconductor substrate 110 is made ofGaAs. The PHS 111 is made of Au.

In both the first embodiment and the comparative example, a chip size ofthe semiconductor chip is 9.3 mm². A thickness of the semiconductorsubstrate is 28 μm. The chip size is an area (surface area) of the upperface of the semiconductor substrate. The thickness of the first Ni layer12 and the second Ni layer 16 in the PHS 11 is 1 μm. The thickness ofthe Cu layer 14 was changed to 5 μm, 10 μm and 20 μm. Next, adescription will be given of the experiment result.

FIG. 6 illustrates a graph of the experiment result. A horizontal axisindicates the thickness of the Cu layer 14 structuring the PHS 11 or thethickness of the PHS 111. A vertical axis indicates the warp amount. Thewarp amount H1 in the direction of FIG. 1B has a negative value. Thewarp amount H2 in the direction of FIG. 1C has a positive value. Blackmarks indicate the warp amount of the first embodiment. White marksindicate the warp amount of the comparative example. Circles indicatethe warp amount before mounting. Squares indicate the warp amount afterthe mounting. Triangles indicate the changing amount of the warp amountbetween before the mounting and after the mounting.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, in the comparative example, the warp amountbefore the mounting is approximately −10 μm to −5 μm. The warp amountafter the mounting is approximately 80 μm to 90 μm. The changing amountof the warp is 85 μm to 100 μm. As described with reference to FIG. 1Athrough FIG. 1C, the warp amount after the mounting is large. Therefore,the semiconductor chip may be damaged, or a defect of mounting mayoccur. In particular, the strength of Au is low. Therefore, enlargingthe thickness of the PHS 11 is required. The thicker the PHS 111 is, thelarger the warp amount is.

In contrast, in the first embodiment, the warp amount before themounting is approximately −30 μm to −20 μm. The warp amount after themounting is 30 μm to 60 μm. The changing amount is 60 μm to 80 μm. Inaccordance with the first embodiment, the warp amount before themounting is enlarged because of Ni. Therefore, the warp in the concavedirection during the mounting is reduced. And, it is possible to reducethe thickness of the PHS 11 of the first embodiment more than thethickness of the PHS 111 of the comparative example, because strength ofCu and Ni is higher than that of Au. Therefore, the warp amount getssmaller. And, the damage of the semiconductor chip is suppressed, andthe mounting of the semiconductor chip is successfully performed.

The Cu layer 14 has preferable thermal conductivity. Therefore, the heatradiation from the semiconductor substrate 10 is effectively performed.When the thickness of the Cu layer 14 is 5 μm to 20 μm and the thicknessof the first Ni layer 12 and the second Ni layer 16 is 1 μm to 3 μm, thethermal resistance of the PHS 11 is 4.04° C./W to 4.51° C./W. When thethickness of the PHS 111 of the comparative example is 28 μm to 40 μm,the thermal resistance is 4.42° C./W to 4.61° C./W. The first embodimentachieves approximately the same radiation performance as the comparativeexample.

As described above, the strength of Cu and Ni is higher than that of Au,it is possible to reduce the thickness of the PHS 11. Therefore, thewarp amount can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. In order toreduce the warp amount, it is preferable that the Cu layer 14 is thin.However, when the Cu layer 14 is thin, the strength of the Cu layer 14is reduced, and the Cu layer 14 may be damaged because of the handling.When the chip size is large, the cracking tends to occur. And, peelingof the semiconductor chip illustrated in FIG. 1C tends to occur.Therefore, when the chip size is large, it is preferable that the Culayer 14 is thick.

An experiment for reviewing the thickness of the Cu layer 14 achievingsufficient strength was performed. The semiconductor chip 100 of FIG. 2Awas used as a sample.

The chip size S and the thickness T of the Cu layer 14 were changed. Thewarp amount and the strength were measured. And, an appropriatethickness was reviewed. The results are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 CHIP SIZE S THICKNESS T [mm²] [μm] S < 1 5 ≦ T < 8  1 ≦ S < 9  8≦ T ≦ 10 9 ≦ S 16 ≦ T ≦ 25As shown in Table 1, when the chip size S is less than 1 mm², it ispreferable that the thickness T of the Cu layer 14 is 5 μm or more toless than 8 μm. When the chip size S is 1 mm² or more to less than 9mm², it is preferable that the thickness T is 8 μm or more to 10 μm orless. When the chip size S is 9 mm² or more, it is preferable that thethickness T is 16 μm or more to 25 μm or less. Even if the chip size Sis 1 mm² or more to less than 9 mm², the thickness T can be 16 μm ormore to 25 μm or less.

The first Ni layer 12 also acts as a diffusion-preventing layer forsuppressing the diffusion of Cu into the semiconductor substrate 10. Thesecond Ni layer 16 also acts as a diffusion-preventing layer forsuppressing the diffusion of Cu into the Au layer 18. When the first Nilayer 12 and the second Ni layer 16 are excessively thin, it isdifficult to suppress the diffusion of Cu and reduce the warp amount.And the strength of the semiconductor chip 100 is reduced. When thefirst Ni layer 12 and the second Ni layer 16 are excessively thick, thethermal resistance gets larger. It is therefore preferable that thethickness of the first Ni layer 12 is 0.5 μm to 3 μm, 0.6 μm to 2.9 μm,or 0.7 μm to 2.8 μm. In order to reduce the warp amount and strengthenthe Ni layers, it is preferable that the thickness is 0.5 μm or more.When the thickness is 1 μm or more, the warp amount hardly fluctuates.On the other hand, when the thickness is 3 μm or more, the thermalresistance gets higher. Therefore, it is preferable that the first Nilayer 12 is 0.5 μm to 3 μm, and more preferably, 1 μm to 3 μm. It ispreferable that the second Ni layer 16 is within the same range as thefirst Ni layer 12. The thickness of the first Ni layer 12 may bedifferent from that of the second Ni layer 16.

The Au layer 18 acts as an oxidation-preventing layer for suppressingthe oxidation of Ni and a diffusion-preventing layer for suppressing thediffusion of Cu into the solder 20. Wettability between the Au and theAuSn of the solder 20 is high. Therefore, reliability of mounting isimproved. In order to suppress the diffusion of Cu and achieve highwettability, it is preferable that the Au layer 18 is thick. However,when the Au layer 18 is excessively thick, the warp amount gets larger.It is therefore preferable that the thickness of the Au layer 18 is 0.8μm to 3 μm, 0.9 μm to 2.9 μm, or 1.0 μm to 2.8 μm.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment is an example in which the structure of the Au layer18 is changed. FIG. 7 illustrates a cross sectional view of asemiconductor chip 200 in accordance with the second embodiment. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, the Au layer 18 in the semiconductor chip 200covers the side face of the first Ni layer 12, the side face of the Culayer 14 and the side face of the second Ni layer 16. The side faces ofthe first Ni layer 12, the Cu layer 14 and the second Ni layer 16 areprotected by the Au layer 18. Therefore, the oxidation of the first Nilayer 12, the Cu layer 14 and the second Ni layer 16 is suppressed.

A description will be given of a method for manufacturing thesemiconductor chip 200. FIG. 8A through FIG. 8D illustrate a crosssectional view illustrating the method for manufacturing thesemiconductor chip 200. The processes of FIG. 3A through FIG. 4A arecommon in both the first embodiment and the second embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 8A, the first Ni layer 12, the Cu layer 14 andthe second Ni layer 16 are formed by an electro plating method. Asillustrated in FIG. 8B, after removing the resist 42, a resist 44 isprovided between the semiconductor substrates 10. As illustrated in FIG.8C, the Au layer 18 is formed by the electro plating method. Asillustrated in FIG. 8D, the resist 44 and the seed metal 13 are removed.Thus, the semiconductor chip 200 is manufactured.

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment is an example in which the structure of the second Nilayer 16 and the Au layer 18 is changed. FIG. 9A illustrates a crosssectional view of a semiconductor chip 300 in accordance with the thirdembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 9A, the second Ni layer 16 of thesemiconductor chip 300 covers the side face of the first Ni layer 12 andthe side face of the Cu layer 14. The Au layer 18 covers the side faceof the second Ni layer 16. The first Ni layer 12 and the Cu layer 14 areprotected by the second Ni layer 16 and the Au layer 18. Therefore theoxidation of the first Ni layer 12 and the Cu layer 14 is suppressed.The second Ni layer 16 is protected by the Au layer 18. Therefore, theoxidation of the second Ni layer 16 is suppressed. FIG. 9B illustrates across sectional view of a semiconductor chip 310 in accordance with amodified embodiment of the third embodiment. Even if the Au layer 18 isnot provided as illustrated in FIG. 9B, the second Ni layer 16 may coverthe side face and the lower face of the Cu layer 14.

FIG. 10A through FIG. 10D illustrate a cross sectional view illustratinga method for manufacturing the semiconductor chip 300 in accordance withthe third embodiment. The processes of FIG. 3A through FIG. 4A arecommon in both the first embodiment and the third embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 10A, the first Ni layer 12 and the Cu layer 14are formed by the electro plating method. As illustrated in FIG. 10B,after removing the resist 42, the resist 44 is provided. As illustratedin FIG. 10C, the second Ni layer 16 and the Au layer 18 are formed bythe electrolytic plating method. As illustrated in FIG. 10D, the resist44 and the seed metal 13 are removed. Thus, the semiconductor chip 300is manufactured. The explanation of the method for manufacturing thesemiconductor chip 310 is omitted.

The first embodiment through the third embodiment can be applied to asemiconductor device including a power device such a IGBT (InsulatedGate Bipolar Transistor) or a thyristor.

The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosedembodiments and variations but may include other embodiments andvariations without departing from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor devicecomprising: providing an active layer on an upper face of a substrate;etching selectively the substrate from a lower face of the substrate soas to expose a side face of the substrate; providing a firstnickel-plated layer on the lower face of the substrate; providing acopper-plated layer on a lower face of the first nickel-plated layerafter providing the first nickel-plated layer; and providing a secondnickel-plated layer on a lower face and a side face of the copper-platedlayer, a side face of the first nickel-plated layer and the side face ofthe substrate after providing the copper-plated layer.
 2. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is penetrated by the etching.3. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: providing a goldlayer on the second nickel-plated layer.
 4. The method as claimed inclaim 3, wherein the gold layer is fixed to a mounting substrate by anadhesive agent including gold-tin.
 5. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein a thickness of the substrate is 20 μm or more to 40 μm or less.6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the firstnickel-plated layer and a thickness of the second nickel-plated layerare 0.5 μm or more to 3 μm or less.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein: when a surface area of the substrate is less than 1 mm², athickness of the copper-plated layer is 5 μm or more to less than 8 μm;when the surface area of the substrate is 1 mm² or more to less than 9mm², the thickness of the copper-plated layer is 8 μm or more to 10 μmor less; when the surface area of the substrate is 9 mm² or more, thethickness of the copper-plated layer is 16 μm or more to 25 μm or less.8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first nickel-platedlayer, the copper-plated layer and the second nickel-plated layer areformed by electro plating.
 9. The method as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe etching is carried out when the upper face of the substrate isbonded to a lower face of a support member.
 10. The method as claimed inclaim 4, wherein a warp amount of the substrate is 30 μm to 60 μm afterfixing to the mounting substrate.